Oct. 17 (Bloomberg) -- The benchmark crude oil price for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, whose members supply more than 40 percent of the world's oil, rose above $80 a barrel for the first time.

The so-called OPEC Basket price rose to $80.82 a barrel yesterday from $78.76 the day before, OPEC's Vienna-based secretariat said by e-mail today. The price is a production- weighted average of the main export crude oils from each of OPEC's 12 members.

Crude futures prices reached a record $88.20 a barrel during trading yesterday in New York, boosted by border tensions between Iraq and Turkey. Prices have also risen in part on speculation an OPEC decision last month to raise production by 500,000 barrels a day, starting Nov. 1, won't be enough to refill stockpiles before the Northern Hemisphere's winter season starts.

The OPEC basket price has risen 8.5 percent since Oct. 9 as Turkish officials threatened to attack Kurdish rebels hiding in northern Iraq. OPEC issued a statement yesterday saying it was concerned about the price rally, which it said was not a result of any supply shortage.

Iraq, an OPEC member, has the world's third-largest oil reserves, after Saudi Arabia and Iran.

The Arab Light crude of Saudi Arabia has the largest weighting within the benchmark index, which was recalibrated on Sept. 10 to include Girassol, a crude oil grade from the group's newest member, Angola.

OPEC's 12 members are Saudi Arabia, Iran, Venezuela, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Nigeria, Libya, Indonesia, Algeria, Qatar and Angola.

To contact the reporters on this story: Bill Murray in London at wmurray1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 17, 2007 07:29 EDT